Anyone else back at "what used to be normal"?

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55in13
55in13 Posts: 1,091 Member
in Goal: Maintaining Weight
This thread:
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1083827-who-has-kept-weight-off-for-2-years
got me thinking about the difference between losing to a healthy weight for the first time (maybe not ever, but for the most part) versus losing back to a weight you kept at or near for a long time.

It got me thinking about self image; I was never comfortable as a big guy. It was not purely shame at gaining the weight, it was like the guy in the mirror just was not me. I have heard big people make the same statement about being smaller.

I was at roughly this weight for about 25 years, then gained about 20 pounds over the course of about 3 years, another 30 on top of that over the course of another 3 years and then stayed at that weight about 3 years. It crept up another 5 over the course of a few months and I finally pulled the trigger and lost 55 in about 7 months, ending about a month ago, but I had been on a slow approach for about 6 weeks before that to lose the last 5.

Anyway, just curious about how many of us are returning to an old weight kept for a long time versus a new weight.
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Replies

  • nxd10
    nxd10 Posts: 4,570 Member
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    I look in the mirror now and see the person I remember being.

    I'm tall, so my weight can fluctuate quite a bit without it showing much or without my clothing size changing. That's nice, but it means it's easy to let your weight creep up.

    I'm at the weight and size now I was in college and through my 20's (I have pictures to prove it). I came back to this weight after each of my pregnancies. It was in my 40's when I looked in the mirror and thought I looked okay, but looked at photographs of myself and thought I looked fat. I was there maybe 10 years, with the last 4 showing a steady couple pound a year climb.

    Now I look in the mirror and it's the person I remember. And photos look the same as the mirror. And all of a sudden my students have started treating me like a young professor and not like an old fart. And guys check me out - even when I'm not at Lowe's (I love hardware stores. All women look good in hardware stores.)
  • 55in13
    55in13 Posts: 1,091 Member
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    BTW, I revisited the thread I linked to and clicked through to get details on the research. The study was based on an intense 10 week VLCD program with under 550 calories per day. I am less surprised at the results (participants all gained the weight back) than I was at first.
  • Codefox
    Codefox Posts: 308 Member
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    Yeah, I know what you mean. I was always a really skinny guy through HS and most of college. It wasn't until near the end I started to pack on the pounds. Over 5 years I probably put on about 40 - 45 pounds. Today I'm back at the weight I was when I was at the Air Force Academy and quite possibly at the best overall fitness level of my life. I had gotten back about 30lbs and stayed that way for a few years about 6 years ago and then last year due to injury & laziness it crept back up a bit until I got my butt in gear and even surpassed my original losses to get back to where I am now and have been here about 6 months. I never thought I'd see a size 33 waist again. I don't really see the skinny HS me in the mirror but that's ok. I'm in much better shape than that guy 8)
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,874 Member
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    I'm back to the weight I was at in my mid to late 20's. I was roughly this weight through about age 33...from 33 - 38 I put on about 40 Lbs due primarily to just being lazy. I wouldn't mind dropping another 5 - 10 Lbs or so, but it's not anything I'm actively trying to do.
  • CollieFit
    CollieFit Posts: 1,683 Member
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    Have never been overweight. Was 125lb until 2008 then piled on 40-odd pounds for various reasons, lost it, then put it back on, now losing them hopefully for good to get "back to normal". I can associate with the person in the mirror looking back at you not feeling like yourself.
  • Shannonthompson73
    Shannonthompson73 Posts: 105 Member
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    Yea, I am back to normal- again. I have gained and lost the same 20 pounds twice over the last 20 years. I am only 5'2" so the 20# really shows. I go from a size 6 to a size 14.

    At 20 years old I was 120
    At 29 I was 140 (after three babies)
    At 30 I was 120 and maintained for about 3 years then started creeping up
    At 39 I was 140 again (blaming it on the 3 young children growing into teens)
    Now I am 40 years old and at 118

    Other than a few wrinkles and stretch marks I look almost identical to my high school pictures. People from my childhood see me and know who I am right away even if I don't know who they are.

    I hope to maintain between 115 and 120. I want to do a better job of maintaining this time as I have heard it gets harder to lose weight as you age.
  • 55in13
    55in13 Posts: 1,091 Member
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    It definitely gets harder as you age. That was something that motivated me.

    What got me thinking about this was seeing a former neighbor over the weekend. He moved away over 8 years ago. So while everyone else thinks I am doing great for the loss, he thinks I am a moron for what happened in between :tongue: . But he made a comment that really got me thinking; he said at least it will be easy for me to keep it off since this is my natural weight. I would like to think he is right...
  • nxd10
    nxd10 Posts: 4,570 Member
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    I feel like this is my natural weight too. When I weigh less than that I'm grumpy and hungry. When I weigh more than this I don't feel good.

    I get jealous/feel inadequate sometimes when I read threads on where people are maintain - Wow, SHE'S 5'10" and weighs 20 pounds less than me. But this is my body's sweet spot. It looks good. I'm in my 50's. I hope to stay here until I die - maybe with a bit more muscle.
  • flumi_f
    flumi_f Posts: 1,888 Member
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    I'm already at a 'new' weight and still have about 16-18 kg to go.

    2001 97kg highest weight ever
    2003 76kg lowest weight ever...until now
    2004-2013 up/down between 76-86kg

    Start MFP and 5:2
    05.2013 86kg
    08.2013 72kg haven't been there since maybe sweet 16!

    So happy with my progress and I am convinced, in about 6 months more, I will beof normal weight for the first time in my 44yrs!

    Goal Spring 2014 around 53-55kg I'll reassess then.

    From here on it is new and exciting ground! And I am so ready to finally discover the real me!
  • dym123
    dym123 Posts: 1,670 Member
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    I'm not sure what normal is, I was a fat kid though high school and early twenties, lost 80lbs, became a runner and triathlete, about 10 years ago, things happened and over the next 10 years gained the weight back, plus. Would lose 30 or 40lbs, but gain it back. So now, even though I'm not at "goal" I'm back into the size I was before I gained weight again. I guess this is my "new" normal
  • lallaloolly
    lallaloolly Posts: 228 Member
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    yes, there is definitely a weight where i feel like myself and now that i'm 41 i have vowed to be more vigilant throughout the winter months so that i don't stay on the roller coaster ride i've been on for the past few years (and yes, losing is definitely harder now than it was 10 years ago). i've never had problems with obesity; 15 pounds is as high above my "ideal weight" that i have ever let myself get, but it's enough weight to change everything about my shape and the way clothes fit, and for the past few years i have allowed myself to go up anywhere from 10 -15 pounds between Nov/Dec/Jan/Feb and then spent the next six months taking it off again. i've been lucky because i have been able to take it off again, but it was much harder this year than it was two years ago. (annual culprits: going off of MFP/not tracking my food over the holiday season, really good beer, indulging in traditional holiday foods as much as i wanted because i felt i deserved it). i have made a promise to myself that i will stay on MFP through the holidays this year so that when spring rolls around, i can feel good about pulling on those spring clothes and just keep up a routine rather than launch into hyper-focused weight loss mode.
  • Seesawboomerang
    Seesawboomerang Posts: 296 Member
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    Normal for me was mostly very skinny. And completely unhealthy and unfit.

    Ages 14 - 30: range of 122-131 lbs (then quit smoking)

    Age 34: 165 lbs (heaviest ever).

    Quit alcohol while planning for a child, then used exercise to help recover from c-section, + breast feeding helped some lbs fall off.

    Age 40: 5 months using MFP got me down to 127 lbs.

    Age 42: maintaining at ~140 lbs.

    I'm the same size clothing as when I was 14, but exercise much more regularly (3+ times per week as opposed to not at all), and eat much more healthily.

    I've a plan to get my body fat down a little, and keep a weight range of 127-131 lbs.
  • LivingtheLeanDream
    LivingtheLeanDream Posts: 13,342 Member
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    am at a weight currently I haven't seen for about 13 yrs...my hubby thinks its my 'normal' weight - I disagree! I want to lose another 7lbs then I'll be more the weight I was in my 20's and early 30's - that would be more acceptable to me :)
  • BlueBombers
    BlueBombers Posts: 4,065 Member
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    I'm slowly getting there, still have a few pounds to go. I haven't looked the way I do now in over 10 years. It's a really nice feeling and oh so worth the hard work and effort :bigsmile:
  • stephanj
    stephanj Posts: 898 Member
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    I think my successful (albeit slow) loss has been due to the fact that I know I was capable of being 130-135 lbs for all my young adult life. Wasn't until I had babies that I gained weight (and lost it twice) but it's always been a journey back to "myself". I think if I had always been heavy, I would have had a tougher time mentally.
    Except for these last 5 lbs which refuse to budge, I am happy with this weight (139) and feel like maintaining good health for the rest of my life is the priority.
  • jadedone
    jadedone Posts: 2,449 Member
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    At the moment, I am in the same neighborhood I was for most of my 20s and 30s. This visit is a little different. I have more muscle, so I am actually wearing a smaller size then I did before. (I have the old clothing to confirm it)

    In around 10 pounds, I'll hit my high school and late teens neighborhood.

    But I hope to hit goal somewhere I haven't seen for a very long time. Probably at puberty or so. Hopefully I can make that my new normal.
  • hablondi
    hablondi Posts: 127 Member
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    I am not there yet, but I am working my way back to the weight and fitness level that I had before have three babies in four years. I definitely look in the mirror and do not see "myself." I also see this size as temporary and not my real size. Hence the reason I don't have lots of clothes that fit me right now. I don't want them to be too big when I get back to the "real me."
  • 55in13
    55in13 Posts: 1,091 Member
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    New acceptable standards is a slippery slope. It was a big part of my weight gain. I used to yoyo between where I am now at the lowest up to about 15 pounds higher. Buying decent clothes with a little more room in them was a big mistake in retrospect. It made the extra pounds look normal. I justified it because I "really wasn't fat - it was just the tight clothes from the bottom of the range making me look fat". If you are going to allow your weight to fluctuate, yo should have clothes that fit for the full range, right? Wrong! Well, at least for me. It opened the door to accepting extra weight as normal as long as I had clothes that fit. Unfortunately, clothes come in several sizes...
  • tsimblist
    tsimblist Posts: 206 Member
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    I have slipped below "normal" and I am not sure yet where I will level out at. I have a recollection that I weighed 184 in high school when I started on the varsity soccer team. I was aware then that I was carrying around more baggage then necessary and it was hindering my performance.

    At age 42, I peaked at 220 and became aware then that my health was at risk. That is when I began to war with my weight. In the following two years I got it down to 165 and then watched it creep back up again. When I neared 200, I started fighting it back down. I have been battling around in the 175 - 200 range for most of this millennium. I was fighting my way back down from 194 earlier this year when a personal trainer recommended MFP to me.

    I joined in March and told MFP I was sedentary and wanted to lose 1/2 lb a week and my goal was 175. Somewhere around June I told MFP that I wanted to maintain my weight so that I could start building my strength back in the weight room. Since then I have building my strength and watching the scales slowly slip lower. I have revised my goal to 170 & now to 165 to keep the slider visible on my ticker.

    I still can't see my abs and there is a good hand full of back fat on each side of my lower back. So I am just going to allow the trend to continue for now. I definitely look better in the mirror now than any time that I can remember.

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